During November 1855, it seems that Haines and Hotham’s chief advisors were prepared to take control of the colony away from the Governor. They managed to convince him that the Legislative Council should be made a Government, and the Constitution was proclaimed on the 27th of November. The Councillors were sworn in the next day, with Haines as Chief Secretary (the title which would become “Premier”).

Trouble came quickly to the fledgling Government when, in the electoral bills of early December, the prominent merchant William Nicholson proposed the secret ballot. Haines and his supporters resisted the move to no avail, and Haines resigned. Nicholson was called on to form his own Government, but could not achieve majority support in the Council, which he admitted on December the 29th. Two days later, another event would further the crisis.

Governor Hotham, who had sent off his resignation in November and was awaiting its acceptance, caught a chill in mid-December which, along with the stress he was under, caused his death on New Years Eve.

Sir Edward Macarthur took over as Acting Governor, and in January called upon Haines to reform the Government. He did so, and accepted the secret ballot principle in legislation which was passed in March 1856. The Victorian Government stands today as the first in the world to adopt the secret ballot.

That month saw the last meeting of the Legislative Council, with the new one being elected in August/September. The more important Legislative Assembly was elected in September/October, but these elections were marked by low numbers of voters. Only half who could vote for the Council did so, with little more than a quarter voting for the Assembly. Only an eighth of the miners voted, though they still had a few hurdles in registration. While many miners were content with the gold fields reforms, others were simply not interested, like many city folk.

On November 21st 1856, the first elected parliament, with Haines in the reins, opened. This first Government would last only three months, and marked the beginning of years of turmoil in Victorian politics.

In December 1856, Victoria finally received its new Governor, Sir Henry Barkly. His pay of £15,000 per year - the highest salary in any British colony - reflects how gold had made Victoria important in the eyes of the Crown, as well as how hard Barkly’s job would be. To his credit, history looks back upon his efforts most favourably, and the people of the time respected him and were pleased with his office.

Political bickering and constant changes of Government abounded for years, and hardly any important legislations were passed. However, the little that was done (as well as the secret ballot) earned Victoria the reputation of being and advanced, democratic colony. “Manhood suffrage” (or the right for all male citizens to vote) for the Assembly, and abolishment of property qualifications for membership into the Assembly were introduced in 1857.

Yet things were not so democratic as they seemed. The same Bill which allowed manhood suffrage made way for “plural voting” - meaning that landowners could have several votes. The multiple votes of rural landowners often hampered efforts to distribute land, as the size of their lands gave them lots of votes for a small number of men.

Although a more democratic Assembly was elected in 1859, the troubles did not disappear. The Legislative Council began to represent the voters less and the wealthy more by way of blocking reforms. Miners who could no longer make a living on the fields were flooding into the cities, looking for work. As the demand for land to be split up and open for “selection” increased, so did the resistance by landowners and the Crown, and the Council that now represented them both.